Battle of Chancellorsville

Celia Romano

The Battle of Chancellorsville took place in Spotsylvania Country, VA from

April 30, 1863 - May 6, 1863.

Summary

The Battle of Chancellorsville is known as one Robert E. Lee's biggest victories of the Civil War. This battle began with General Joseph Hooker crossing the Rappahannock River where he placed his reconstructed and reorganized army on General Lee's flank. In reaction to this, Robert E. Lee made a plan for revenge. Because General Lee was facing an army twice the size of his own, he split his army into two and sent one half (the smaller one) to Fredericksburg and the other half (the bigger one) to keep fighting General Hooker. He planned for he and one of his armies to follow a route to the Union and make a surprise attack. This battle was a huge success for the Confederate Army, but this win did not come at a low cost. The Confederate side lost a major general, General Stonewall Jackson, who died in a fire. Overall, this battle was a major success for the Confederate side.

Key Points

- One of Robert E. Lee's greatest victories in all of the Civil War

- General Stonewall Jackson's death

- General Lee split his army into two

- The fourth bloodiest battle of the Civil War

Connection

The Battle of Chancellorsville connects to Stonewall Jackson in a few ways. Most importantly, Stonewall Jackson fought in the battle. He played a very important role because he was one of the main generals for the Confederate side. He maneuvered a great amount of the plans during the Civil War. During the battle, Stonewall Jackson was fatally wounded due to a burning fire. This loss eventually caused the Confederate side to become much weaker.

Soldiers praising General Robert E Lee during the Battle of Chancellorsville.

The Confederate and the Union fighting to win this terrible, bloody battle.